By H.H.Mohrmen
There are three important sources available about the great Jañtia rebellion of 1862-63 led by u Kiang Nangbah. The major sources are the correspondence of the British officers stationed in Calcutta and Cherrapoonjee and their subordinates in the hills and the account of Dr JH Thornton who was part of the military expedition to suppress the rebellion. The third and the most important source are the oral narratives which are being handed down by words of mouth from one generation to another.
In his memoir Dr JH Thornton who was attached to the 28th Regiment of Native Infantry has recorded almost all the incidents he was involved in and encountered during the rebellion. Thornton was appointed as the medical in-charge of the left wing 28th Regiment of Native Infantry few days after January of 1862. The regiment was ordered to move to Sylhet by steamer to assist in suppressing the rebellion in Jañtia hills in Eastern Bengal.
Thornton said that the rising of the hill tribes was mainly because of the ill-advise of the Bengal government to impose income tax upon the native inhabitants of the hills. The simple highlanders had no incomes in the proper sense of the term and could not understand the meaning of such tax in the first place. The Sylhet Light Infantry Battalion which was stationed in Cherrapoonjee in the Khasi hills was being reduced in strength because it was in the process of being converted from an irregular local corps into a regular regiment of the Bengal Native Army. Thornton was informed by the Bengali tax-collector that the subordinate officials began in their customary way to oppress and extort the hill people. The outcome of this is that in the beginning of 1862 a revolt began which continued for fifteen months. The revolt has caused heavy losses and it was finally suppressed with much difficulty and at great expense by the government employing 5000 or 6000 soldiers and police.
The journey from Calcutta to Sylhet
The day after he joined the wing of the 28th Native Infantry in January 1862, they embarked on a journey from Calcutta in a river steamer down the Hooghly River to reach the Sundarbans. Sundarbans are islands and channels lying between the Hooghly on the west and the Meghna on the east, a distance of more than 150 miles. It was through these innumerable channels the waters of the great rivers Ganges and Brahmaputra find their way to the ocean.
They reached Burrisal on February 10 and remained there the rest of the day and left Burrisal the next day on February 11. With so much difficulty they succeeded in reaching Dacca the main city of Eastern Bengal, on the following day. They stayed a day in Dacca and continued with the trip and landed at Luckaie on February 15. They then continue with their journey and reached Sylhet on February 22 after crossing Soorma. When they reached the station they found that they were ordered to march to Cheerapoonjee. The station itself was almost empty of troops as they were moved to the field to fight against the rebels.
They had to stay in Sylhet for some time due to logistic problems and started marching on February 25 till they reached a place called Companygunge. From the place they can see the Khasi Jañtia hills rising like a gigantic green wall stretching from east to west. They could also see many waterfalls cascading down between these hills. They reached Pandua on February 27 and while at Pandua they received an order from Colonel Richardson requesting the commanding officer to send a company up to Cherrapoonjee in Khasi hills and to join him at Nongtalang in Jañtia hills. Captain Robinson who commanded the regiment decided to move eastwards on a regular road instead of returning to Sylhet. After they had spent a week and marched for about forty miles through many difficulties they arrived at Jyntiapur town.
Reaching Jaintiapur
Thornton’s impression of Jyntiapur was an old town which is situated at the foot of the hills and located only a few miles from the place where troops are supposed to move. It is the capital of a country which was once a very flourishing kingdom. It is also a place where the palace of the Rajah of Jaintiapur is located. The palace was however in ruins and nothing worthy could be found in the palace except some huge monoliths around the palace which he believed could have some religious significance.
The troop then left for Jaintiapur on March 7 and proceed on a very steep ascent of about 1500 feet to reach Nongtalang. They found that the people of Nongtalang were very friendly and they had not joined the rebels to fight against the government. If the soldiers had not arrived on time to protect them perhaps they would have joined the rebellion said Thornton. At Nongtalang they met Major Rowlatt, the chief civil officer of the Khasia and Jyntia Hills, and Colonel Richardson of the 44th Regiment Native Infantry along with his party.
Attacking the rebels’ Stockade
Dr Thornton accompanied Captain Robinson with about thirty men and left Nongtalang to launch an attack on the enemy’s stockade at Ooksai/Amkoi. They walked through many ascents and descents and through narrow valleys and dense forests. After trekking for sometimes they were aware of the presence of the enemy who then fired arrows at them from the cover of the jungle. Fortunately no one was hit in the attack and the troops fired volleys of musketry towards the rebels which compelled them to run away. Captain Robinson decided that it was not prudent to advance further. They then started their retreat but were followed by the rebels who were driven back after few shots from the doctor’s rifle and muskets of the soldiers.
As the troops descended the steep hills the rebels who were hiding in the forest continued to throw rocks at them. When they reached the bottom the rebels continued to fire arrows and throw stones at the soldiers from both sides. They shouted and yelled triumphantly thinking that they had caught the soldiers in a trap. The soldiers luckily escaped the trap after so much difficulties and escaped from the rocks and arrows that the rebels threw at them. The soldiers escaped without any loss and reached their camp safely.
The next morning with almost all the troops and the police that they had at their disposal they jointly went to attack the rebel’s stockade at Ooksai/Amkoi.
They crossed the ravine without opposition and soon arrived in front of the stockade, which was built of stout palisades about nine feet high, bristling everywhere with sharp bamboo spikes. It was carried across a neck of level ground with a precipice on each side which effectually prevented any attempt on the part of the soldiers to turn the defences. The ground in front of it was everywhere stuck with ‘panjees’ lancet-shaped bamboo spikes several inches long, which would penetrate the upper leathers of stout walking hoots. As they reached the top, they heard the sound of musketry on the other side of the stockade, which meant that Colonel Richardson had already commenced his attack. The rebels seemed confused by an assault from two opposite directions, which made the work of the soldiers easy.
The soldiers soon entered the stockade by scrambling over the palisades, and met their friends, who had been equally successful although their loss had been greater than the other team’s. A few of the rebels were killed, but most of them escaped by going down the precipices where troops could not follow them. The soldiers then left a small detachment to hold the captured stockade, and the remainder of the troops, after a halt for rest and food, took the roads to their respective camps. During their return to Nongtalang, while crossing the deep ravine, they were again attacked by the rebels with arrows and large masses of rocks, and several soldiers were wounded.
This is only a part of the narrative of the rebellion which was recorded by Dr JH Thornton. In his memoir he had also mentioned other expeditions too.